Chapter 22: Gift Number 667

Chloe sniffled through the phone. "They're calling it paid leave, but I think they're just hoping we'll all quietly quit on our own. Lily, what's going on? Everything was fine we just did the New Year's Eve show at Central Plaza..."

A cold dread crept up from the soles of Lily's feet.

She pushed it down, keeping her voice steady for Chloe's sake. "Don't worry. I'm on my way."

She turned and headed straight for the nurses' station.

She left Eleanor in their care, hurried out of the hospital, and flagged a taxi to the office.

She skipped the studio entirely.

Went straight to Nathan.

Ryan spotted her the moment she walked in and jumped to his feet. "Ma'am what brings you by?"

She stopped, clutching her bag with both hands. "What, is there something to hide back here? Can't I show up unannounced?"

Ryan floundered for a second before recovering with a bright smile. "Of course not, ma'am. Mr. Pierce is in a meeting it might be a little while."

"That's fine. I'll wait until he's done."

Ryan busied himself brewing her coffee.

He then stationed himself beside her, filling the silence with questions about Eleanor's recovery and Toby's upcoming surgery anything, apparently, to avoid leaving her alone in the office.

Nathan finally returned from his meeting.

Ryan visibly relaxed. "Sir Mrs. Pierce has been waiting half an hour."

Nathan nodded once.

He shrugged off his suit jacket; Ryan swept in to take it and hang it up.

"What brings you in at this hour?"

Lily lifted her chin, using his full name deliberately. "Nathan Pierce. Why did you order Starfall Design Studio shut down?"

He smiled and gestured for Ryan to bring the file. "Lily, don't get worked up before you've seen this."

Ryan pulled a folder from the stack and handed it over.

Nathan's tone stayed calm, measured. "Believe me, this isn't something I wanted to do. It's for your own good and for everyone on the studio's payroll."

Lily took the folder and scanned through it quickly.

A detailed financial report, laying out the studio's finances and the deficit at the bottom made her frown.

Once she'd finished reading, Ryan spoke up quietly. "Ma'am, over the past year, the studio's been landing fewer and fewer contracts. We haven't won a major bid in ages. Even our longtime clients are hesitating on renewals."

"Overhead and payroll have been eating straight through the reserves. Mr. Pierce has been covering the gap out of pocket, and it's not a small amount. The shareholders are already pushing back hard if we don't close it down, they'll make a scene in front of both of you."

Nathan watched her, waiting for a reaction before continuing. "Lily, I know how much this career means to you. But it's become a liability. I've thought this through carefully shutting it down is the right call."

He poured her a cup of tea.

Lily's grip tightened on the report. "That's not possible. Last year's Lunar celebration, the northern spring tourism campaign, five separate brand launches including Central Plaza. Every single one of those turned a profit."

"Sure, a couple of new firms opened last year and we lost some final-round bids but those losses were minimal. There's no way Starfall's bleeding money like this suggests."

And that's on me, too. She'd trusted Nathan too completely, for too long, to ever look closely at the books herself profit or loss, she'd simply never checked.

Ryan added, "Ma'am, we barely landed any work in the second half of last year. Central Plaza only happened because Mr. Pierce personally lobbied for it."

"We were hoping it would rebuild our reputation. Instead, the internet's flooded with complaints that a multi-million-dollar display looked worse than something a backyard operation could've produced. It's done real damage to the brand."

Lily said nothing.

Nathan rubbed her shoulder gently. "The numbers speak for themselves. I'm not in the business of forging financial statements that's a felony. Lily, why not take a year or two off?"

"Focus on Grandma. Be there for Toby through his surgery and recovery. Money's not the issue here you don't need to carry this kind of pressure."

Beautifully worded manipulation, dressed up as concern. On the surface: I only care about you, I don't want you exhausted, let me take care of everything. Underneath: clip her wings, lock the cage, call it love.

Lily expected fury to hit her. Instead, all she found was a calm, easy smile. "Then let's fully separate Starfall from Pierce Group. I never wanted it tied to your name to begin with."

"You were the one who said affiliation would help with investors and tax structuring, and I agreed. Now that it's causing you reputational damage, let's cut the cord. Profitable or not, it becomes entirely mine."

A flicker of tension crossed Nathan's face, barely visible.

He glanced at Ryan. "You can step out."

Ryan nodded and slipped out, closing the door firmly behind him.

Nathan rose, turning to face her fully. "Lily, environmental regulations are only going to tighten from here. Traditional fireworks could be banned outright someday."

She smiled, unbothered. "Don't worry that's a problem for future me to solve."

He took her hand, sighing like a man out of options. "But if we separate Starfall from Pierce Group entirely, those shareholders won't play fair. You could end up with nothing but an empty shell of a company."

So this was the plan all along.

She played along, feigning uncertainty. "Then what would you suggest?"

He finally showed his hand. "What if we shut down the traditional fireworks line entirely, and pivot to electronic displays instead?"

"Here's the idea Melissa actually has real expertise in that space. She could run the technical side, you handle the creative vision. You two would balance each other out perfectly on a project like this."

"And who runs it?"

"Melissa should manage it. There's too much on your plate already, between Grandma and Toby."

Lily nearly laughed outright, her smile turning sharp. "I'm not giving up traditional fireworks. And I am absolutely not partnering with Melissa on anything."

"You told me, when Starfall was founded, that you were putting in five million of your own money and that the Pierce Group affiliation was purely for tax convenience."

"So tell me what exactly is the legal relationship between Starfall and Pierce Group? If the shareholders have a problem with the split, you can just produce the paperwork showing your original five-million investment. You can do that, can't you?"

Something flickered across Nathan's face. "Of course."

Lily stood, extending her palm toward him. "Give me the documents. I'll present them to the shareholders myself. I doubt they'll be unreasonable about it."

He stared at her open hand for a long moment before laughing, easy and warm. "Fine. I'll help you get Starfall separated. You're my wife, after all how could I stand to watch you trapped in something like this?"

Lily studied his face.

There had been a time when that exact smile made her genuinely happy.

Now all she could see in it was calculation, dressed up in charm.

She picked up her bag and stood. "Two days. Have Starfall fully separated by then."

Nathan let out a long, put-upon sigh, as if she were being wildly unreasonable, and endured it anyway. "Who else would put up with you the way I do?"

Lily turned toward the door. "I'll wait to hear from you."

"Wait."

He crossed to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a small box before catching up to her. "Your Mercedes is getting up there in years losing power, probably overdue for a replacement. I got you something new. It's being detailed today, delivered to the house tomorrow."

Gift number six hundred and sixty-seven.

Melissa nearly lost her legs to frostbite for this family, and this is the going rate for that kind of loyalty too, apparently.